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Hello Welcome to Building from ScratchIn this column I take magic cards most players discard as worthless and build workable decks around themToday’s sucky card is: Confusion in the ranksConfusion in the ranks a card which sends the game rules crying into a dark shadowy corner. As soon as it’s on the table every creature artifact and enchantment you play is a potential threat to everyone on the board including you and then you have to sit through your opponent (or opponents) turn/turns where they sit back steel your best cards. You then will have to either have to steel your stuff back or steel their stuff. It’s simple just to sit back relax and build a deck around confusion in the ranks by using sucky creatures that no-one wants. Ok simple enough, now what happens if confusion just doesn’t show in the first 7 turns. You get your but beat down into a pulp by the opponents superior creatures while your Crazed goblins are attacking into 18/18 flying trampling double striking legendary dragon spirit shaman’s which could be yours. Ok maybe that’s a bit of exaggeration, but it’s not far from the truth (their probably just untargetable 18/1’s with flying)Ok then you build a deck based on creature’s that aren’t horrible, they just don’t have that special quality about them their just rejects, not complete freaks. Here you start hitting into ogres. Ogres are big, ogres are mean, ogres tend to have nasty effects and be red. Fun, fun, until you get your face beat down by your own ogres while you sit back and cry because you matched up against a goblin deck.So what in the world can use confusion in the ranks to its advantage and still manage to do well against everything from tooth and nail, to goblins. The answer, this one.9 enchantments4 confusion in the ranks4 death match1 Mortal Combat

24 creatures4 avalanche raiders4 bone shredder3 ghitu slinger4 keldon champion3 keldon vandals3 shivan raptor3 viashino outrider2 artifacts2 Nuisance engineThe point of the deck is simple your creatures are creatures, that is until confusion in the ranks hits the field. Then they become simple thievery spells. How you ask. Well how can an opponent control a dead creature? As soon as your creatures hit the field smack them with death match after stacking your Confusion theft. You end up with a one creature advantage. Sure they can pull the same trick if they play only creatures with 3 or less toughness but you’re prepared for that. You have echo with echo you don’t even need to smack the creature unless they’re playing the same colors. You can use that useful ability to smack anything on their side pretty easily; bone shredder becomes a 3 for 1 trade for 2B. I tossed Mortal combat in there to give you the edge in long games where 20 creatures will hit your graveyard without problem.The obvious problem for this deck is the same as every other Confusion in the ranks based deck. Creatureless decks, they come, they see your creatures and laugh. Your Confusion in the ranks, and Death match become useless. Your echo creature become creatures you’re paying too much for and your clever Mortal Combat

is never going to activate unless the creatureless deck intends to win by having you deck yourself. Massive creature removal doesn’t bother it though, and Darksteel colossus happens to be your best friend. Tooth and Nail